ORLANDO, Fla. – Thousands of Orange County employees were encouraged to leave their cars at home and ride SunRail for free on Wednesday.
Orange County officials said the offer was part of an effort to decrease vehicle emissions, increase mass transit ridership and boost business around SunRail stations.
"We rode from Winter Park (and) Altamonte Springs," Orange County District 5 Commissioner Ted Edwards said. "It was a great ride."
The number of passengers has recently been fluctuating for SunRail. The average number of riders in January dropped 12 percent from 2015.
February brought a 3 percent increase and an average of 3,561 riders, although the number is still below the original goal when SunRail launched in 2014.
"I would like to see it increase, because I think everybody should commute to work. Get rid of your cars," SunRail rider Kate Adams said.
Wednesday's one-day promotion followed a recent push for SunRail riders in Altamonte Springs. Starting March 21, a partnership with Uber will offer passengers a 25 percent discount to or from the Altamonte Springs SunRail station.
Passengers said they hope that the recent offers encourage people to give commuter rail a try.
"To me, it's worth trying. If you haven't tried it, give it a try, because it's definitely worth it," Adams said.